Letters
by rafeind
Summary: Ireland has just become member of the United Nations and doesn't understand why he hasn't got any letters in the in-house mail before the meeting.


AN: Thanks to ShrapnelGirl for reading this over for me. Any mistakes that remain are mine and mine alone.

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_1955_

Ireland glared at his empty letter box, not sure if he should be disappointed or annoyed, because even if he wasn't a superpower, Ireland found it hard to believe that he had not gotten one single letter. Not even a note to congratulate him on becoming a member of the United Nations. He had seen other nations with stacks of them. According to England - who had not stopped calling him until Ireland had listened to his lecture about the meeting - they were last minute notes to each other about whatever they were going to talk about in the meeting. According to America - who had followed Ireland through the corridors of the hotel earlier in the day until he had listened his ramblings about the same - they were about anything that would stop them from dying from boredom in the meeting.

The shelf with the letter boxes stood in a corner not too far from the meeting hall. It was a wooden rectangle divided into squares, each with a locked door. The uppermost row of letter boxes was a different colour than the rest. It had obviously been added to cope with the recent additions to the United Nations. Why the boxes hadn't been reassigned so that they were in a logical order, was anyone's guess - Ireland's was between Portugal's and Austria's. Maybe it was because it was a last minute job, the new nations had to make do with a letter box without a lock or even a door. Ireland hoped that would be fixed before the next meeting, because if he had really not got any letters he did not want England to know that.

"Írland! Guði sé lof, þú hefir lítið breyst! Ég var orðin hræddur um að ég myndi ekki finna þig."

Ireland turned on the spot. That was definitely his name, even if he recognised neither the accent nor the language. He saw a pale young nation with almost white hair in a brown coat walking hurriedly toward him.

"These are yours." The youngster handed him a stack of letters. "They were in my post."

Ireland was surprised. Not about the fact that he had gotten some letters, he had rather suspected that, but that a nation he did not even recognise had them, and not, say his brother.

"Why?"

"There is just one letter diffe... dif... Our names are spelled almost the same."

"Just one letter difference?"

"Já."

"You are?" Ireland could not remember any country with a name so similar to his own.

"Ísland." The youngster seemed slightly put out that Ireland hadn't recognised him.

"You have grown up." Last time Ireland had seen Iceland the younger had looked about 4 years old in human terms and been bouncing around behind Norway in Dublin. But that was a time Ireland didn't like to think about because even if Iceland had mostly wanted to listed to stories, both his people and Norway had been much more interested in stealing things - and people.

"It has been a few years." Centuries really, almost ten of them.

"Island, møden beginner snart, hvor er du?" Ireland was quite sure it was Denmark that was calling.

"They are looking for me" sighed Iceland and rolled his eyes. Then he smiled a little bit, said "I will see you" and disappeared toward the meeting room before Ireland had time to answer.

Ireland stood a little bit longer by the letter boxes, thinking. Even if their names were spelled almost the same in most languages, it seemed a little strange that all of his letters had ended up in Iceland's letter box.

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Translations

Icelandic

Írland! Guði sé lof, þú hefir lítið breyst! Ég var orðin hræddur um að ég myndi ekki finna þig. = Ireland! Thank God, you have not changed much! I was starting to think I would not find you. (Bit old fashioned, modern spelling "hefur" not "hefir")

Já = Yes

Ísland = Iceland

Danish

Island, møden beginner snart, hvor er du? = Iceland, the meeting is going to start soon, where are you?

Notes

Ireland became a member of the United Nations in 1955, Iceland in 1946. The United Nations were founded in 1945.

The only language which I know of were Iceland and Ireland differ in more than one letter is Irish (Irish Gaelic) where Ireland is Éire and Iceland is An Íoslainn (according to Google Translate which I think can't mess country names to terribly). Which is part of the reason Ireland can't think of any country with name that similar to his.


End file.
